KEMPS
by Vywien is me
Summary: Interesting how an innocent game of KEMPS can bring two people together. LJ! RR


**Disclaimer**: Do not own!

**Summary**: Interesting how an innocent game of Kemps can bring two people together. LJ! (:

By the way, much help from animeobsessed260. (;

I hope it's okay if I change the rules for Kemps a little bit. (:

I got this idea after a day of playing Kemps with my friends. XD Or, something like Kemps.

--

Christmas holidays of their seventh year found The Marauders, Lily, and Alice bored out of their minds. Alice's boyfriend, Frank Longbottom, had gone home for the holidays, leaving her and Lily stuck with The Marauders. It was about eight o'clock in the evening and Lily just about had enough of Exploding Snap.

"Can we play something else?" She finally said. "Anything but more Exploding Snap? Please?"

"Uh...any suggestions?" James Potter asked.

Sirius brightened. "How about—?"

"No," Lily said firmly. "The last time _you_ suggested something, we ended up in McGonagall's office."

Sirius cursed silently. All he was going to suggest was sneaking out to Hogsmeade and drinking firewhiskey!

"How about those Muggle poker cards you always bring 'just in case'?" Alice asked Lily.

"Great idea! Now I can finally use them! I really miss playing with them..." Lily said as she ran up the stairs to the girl's dormitories. The moment she appeared at the stairs again, she declared, "Let's play Kemps."

She sat down next to Alice on the floor in the middle of the room and started shuffling her poker cards.

"Um...Lily?"

"Yes, Black?"

"What is 'Kenpts'?"

"It's _Kemps_. It's kind of like that other card game Spoons."

"Come again?" was their only response.

"Oh—don't you know _any _card games?" Lily asked. They stared at her as if she just dropped in from another world. "Any of you? No? Oh, alright, I'll explain it then."

"Yeah, that'd be great," Sirius growled.

"Oh, shut up. So we should pick a partner first...Alice is mine."

"You and me, Prongs, you and me," Sirius said.

"Well, that leaves me with Wormtail," Remus Lupin confirmed. Peter nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"So let's sit in a circle...your partner has to be directly across from you." Lily sat down first, leaving everyone else to follow her instructions. James plopped down next to her on her left and grinned at Sirius. Remus sat down on Lily's other side as she continued shuffling.

"Okay...so the goal of the game is to get four of a kind. You and your partner need to agree on a signal that you'll use when you _do_ get four of a kind. When you see your partner signaling to you, you say "KEMPS" and your team wins a point. If for some reason, we suspect you, one of us can say "STOP KEMPS" and you lose a point. And please—specify who you are stopping because if you say "STOP KEMPS" at a wrong time, then you lose your team a point. We can't change signals until every three rounds or more. So even if we suspect what your signal is, you can't change it until three or more rounds has passed. Um...I hope I'm not forgetting anything..."

"When do we stop playing?" Peter asked.

"Well, I think I rather do a point system rather than how most people do it. That way we can just keep going instead of stopping every five rounds to start over. So we'll just play until someone gets to 30."

Seeing that they understood, Lily continued.

"So we each get four cards, I'll take four more cards from the rest of the deck and put them face up in the middle of our circle. Grab whatever you need but remember: _You can only have four cards in your hand at a time_. Right so once we're done picking and switching cards, I'll move the middle four away (so you can't get any of those cards back) then pull four new cards from the deck and we continue to pick and switch. We repeat this until someone calls "KEMPS" or "STOP KEMPS". Reveal the cards at the end so we know you're not cheating...AND NO MAGIC. Don't make me take away your wands because you're changing the cards to get four of a kind. Questions? I think I've covered pretty much everything."

"Let's try it!" Peter Pettigrew piped up. They broke up into their teams on Lily's command and contemplated a signal. Lily could see James and Sirius laughing in the corner and Peter nodding at Remus not far away from her.

"Alice...how about we scratch our noses when we get four of a kind?"

"Sure, whatever you say. You're the only one who actually knows how to play."

"Agreed," Lily affirmed, nodding. "But PLEASE make sure you watch me once in a while. Like what Moody would say: Constant vigilance! And also make sure you don't scratch your nose on accident. Please."

They all made their way back to the circle and sat down. Lily nodded at them and asked, "Ready?"

Everyone nodded.

"You may want to confuse people by picking up random cards if you have no other cards you want...and observe other teams carefully—see which cards they're going after. Also observe which cards your partner needs, so that if you have the last of their kind, then you can discard it and hope they'll pick it up before someone else does," She explained as she dealt everyone four cards. "Or well...you can confuse people in many ways actually. Figure it out yourself."

Once they picked up their cards, Lily drew four cards from the deck and put it in the center.

"Ready?" She repeated. Everyone nodded. "Go!"

Lily switched her cards around until she had three 4's. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw James draw his wand out. _Hm, what's he up to? Hopefully not changing the cards...better keep an eye on him._

What James did next took Lily completely by surprise. He sent red sparks shooting everywhere around the room. Before Lily could ask "What are you doing?" Sirius said "KEMPS."

Then Lily understood.

"JAMES, You're supposed to use very subtle signals! Something less than coughing. Like scratching your arm or something. Wait, I said that didn't I?"

"No, I don't think you did," Sirius replied.

"Oh...well, now you know!"

"Aww, Remus! We have to change our signal now," Peter said.

After the Marauders changed their signals, they came back for the next round.

_Excellent. Excellent. She already had two Jacks and there was one in the center!_ She grabbed it and threw down a 3. She made a random grab at other cards but not before making a mental note that James had grabbed the 3 she threw down and scratched his head.

_Goodness, can that boy ever stop messing his hair up like that?_

"Kemps," Sirius declared.

"Ha!" James cried triumphantly as he threw down four 3's.

"Hey!" Lily shouted as everyone else threw down their cards. "Remus, you had the last Jack!"

"Exactly. I kept it in case you were going after them," he replied, giving her a weary smile. Darn him for being so watchful.

She collected all the cards and shuffled again. After dealing, the game resumed. The card switching went on for a while and Lily had to change the center four cards three times. Occasionally, she shouted random things like "The grass is green" or "Nice weather, no?" She glanced at Alice just in time to see her scratching her nose.

"Kemps!" She cried. Alice threw down four 8's and beamed.

"Wormtail, will you watch me more often? I had the four Kings for quite a while!" Remus sighed as he threw down his cards.

A couple more rounds later, Lily found herself distracted once again by James messing his hair up. She glanced at Alice, she had her head down...so did everyone else. _Oh, bugger_...

"James, will you stop ruffling your hair? It's distracting and annoy—!"

"KEMPS!" yelled Sirius.

"Took you long enough!"

"Sorry, mate."

_...So that's their signal...don't change it so I can "STOP KEMPS" you next time, James!_

Unfortunately, as if reading her mind, Sirius said, "James, I think we should change our signal now..."

Five rounds passed by in a flash. Peter had successfully mastered the art of watching his partner and the team had won two points without anyone else noticing Remus' signal. Lily suspected that Peter had missed the werewolf's signals in earlier rounds because he was too good at keeping it subtle. She'd have to watch more carefully.

Sirius, on the other hand was not quite as lucky. Lily's sharp eyes observed him as he collected three aces. Smirking, she discarded the Ace in her hand and waited to see what his signal would be when he picked it up. She saw him lick his lips as he glared at James and she quickly yelled "STOP KEMPS" before James could do anything.

Despite the points Remus' team had accumulated, Peter finally gave away their signal. He was in no way as adept at being subtle like Remus was - he had been rubbing his stomach so hard that even though Remus was able to shout "KEMPS" first, the two of them were forced to change their signal.

After a couple more rounds, many changing of signals, and many shouts of "Pens are blue" (A/N: Personal joke!), Lily and Alice were beaten just barely by James and Sirius. Lily was not one to let a defeat pass by so quickly. She was either going to win over them in the end or get revenge another way somehow. James and Sirius had changed their signals once again and they came back smirking. Lily raised her eyebrows as James sat back down next to her.

"Ready?" She asked. He nodded. She flipped the four center cards face up and said, "Go!"

_Sweet, I hope there's two more 2's in the next draw..._ Lily thought to herself, as she randomly picked up cards and switched them with her non-2's.

_Finally, aha!_ Lily tried to suppress a smile as she caught Alice's eye. She tucked her hair back behind her ears, hoping Alice's eyes were still on her and was ready for Alice to say "KEMPS!"

What she wasn't ready for however, was for a deep voice to her left to speak instead.

"STOP KEMPS," said James triumphantly a split second before Alice cried "KEMPS!"

"H-how did you know?" Lily demanded. As she threw her four 2's onto the floor. He shrugged.

"Just a guess."

_Was he watching me the whole time? ...And figured out my signal?_

"Alice! Signal change! Get over here!"

"It hasn't been three rounds yet," James said. For a moment, everyone thought she was going to slap him across the face. Instead she hissed, "Fine."

After this next round, she would be able to change it. She received four of a kind again and had to signal to Alice without anyone looking. Unluckily, Remus looked at her before Alice did. Perhaps he could feel her tucking her hair back since he was right next to her. "STOP KEMPS."

Lily cursed.

The game was beginning to make her nervous.

In the middle of the round, she felt a bit tense. Was it just her or was James slowly inching closer. She would've kept an eye on James if the 5 she was looking for didn't get taken away by Peter. But no sooner had she snapped her head back to the game did James close the remaining space between them so that they were glued arm to arm. Lily was so taken by surprise that she yelped.

"POTTER, WHEN DID YOU GET SO CLOSE TO—!"

"KEMPS!" Sirius yelled. Lily stared at him for a few seconds before realizing what had just happened.

"ARGH!" Lily screamed as she threw her three 7's and Jack down. She continued glaring at James and Sirius as they walked over to a corner to change their signal. She was still glaring at them when she saw them whispering...then Sirius threw his head back and started laughing. _What are they up to now...?_

Lily decided to ignore it and to just try and prevent him from getting four of a kind. Five rounds later, Lily's team finally caught up to James's in points. Unfortunately for her, he caught her off guard once again.

"So, Evans, will you go out with me?" he asked conversationally.

Why he was asking her out in the middle of the game, Lily did not know. All she knew was that James Potter was getting on her nerves.

"Potter, for the _last time_, I—"

"KEMPS!" shouted Sirius.

"I—WHAT?" Lily yelled, not daring to believe it. James showed her his four Queens and grinned at her mischievously. "Ugh! Potter, I'm going to—!"

"Well, change of signals again, I believe?" Sirius cut in.

"Will you stop using signals that involve me?" Lily snapped. She was ignored as James and Sirius walked once again into the corner. She tried again. "Hey, Potter! Stop using this game to your advantage to do things like that!"

Again, they ignored her. She glowered at them in their corner, whispering to each other. Seeing as how Sirius was now rolling on the floor laughing his head off, whatever the signal was, it couldn't be good.

She rolled her eyes and resumed the game when they sat back down. Seven rounds later, Lily was concentrating on Remus's cards instead of James because she happened to find that whatever the werewolf was doing was fishier. Suddenly, she felt warm lips brush her cheek.

"Potter—WHAT? YOU—You..."

"K-K-KEMPS!" Sirius managed to say while rolling on the floor laughing his big head off again. Lily was fuming by now and she threw her cards down. Before she was able to threaten them, however, Alice spoke up.

"Lily, let's change signals."

"W-what? Uh...okay, I guess." Lily forced herself to calm down as she followed Alice into a corner. Her green eyes were glued to Alice's devilish smile...Lily shuddered. Whatever her friend was thinking, it could _not_ be good.

"You want revenge on Potter right? Revenge is sweet after all. Do you realize that even though Remus and Peter only have 20 points, James and Sirius are tied with us at 29 points? This is the tie breaker! We HAVE to get this next point. So..."

"Great! You keep scratching your neck as a signal and I'll change mine to giving Potter a good kick up the—"

"No. Here's what you're doing," Alice said as she grinned...that evil grin. The Marauders watched as Alice whispered into Lily's ear...watched as Lily's eyes widened at her every word. She shouted, "WHAT?" as Alice hurried back to sit down.

"Alice, get back here! I'm not doing that!"

"Nope, I'm not going to call KEMPS unless you do it," Alice said as she dealt the four cards to each person. "Well? What are you waiting for? Let's play!"

_Well, okay..._ thought Lily. She bit her lip..._ Chances were that Alice would be the one to get four of a kind. I, on the other hand, would just make sure that Potter and Sirius don't manage to do the same._

Lily indeed made sure Sirius and Potter did not receive four of a kind. However, she soon found that she had three 10's in her hand...and one 10 out in the open. She glanced at Alice, hoping she had gotten four of a kind first...but no luck. She was waiting to see if anyone else was going to make a grab. When no one did, she asked, "Is everyone done?"

Everyone nodded but Lily. "Lily?"

_It's now or never...grab it and win!_ Lily thought as she stared at the 10. She bit her lip.

"Lily? I'll take that as a yes..." Alice said as she put her hands over the center cards and began moving it to the trash pile.

"WAIT!" Lily cried at the last minute. She made a quick grab for the 10 and discarded her 7. _Wait...Alice _knows_ I'm collecting 10's! So she'll catch on anyways!_

She stared hard at Alice before breaking out into cold sweat. Alice knew... she _knew_ that Lily had four of a kind...but she wasn't doing anything. Lily was beginning to feel sick. The smirk on Alice's face said it all. There was no way they were going to win the game unless she did..._that_.

_Alice, please...I rather lose than make the signal..._ Lily wished that Alice could perform Legilimency just for these five seconds. Alice, who maybe _did_ perform Legilimency for those five seconds, shook her head. _Oh, bugger! Have it your way, Alice! I will get my revenge on you!_

Lily glanced at James reluctantly. _It'll be quick. Get it over with._

She threw her cards face down onto the floor and reached out a hand to turn his face towards hers. _Here goes..._

She pressed her lips tightly together, braced herself, and leaned in...

The Marauders were so shocked that Alice's shout of "KEMPS" went unnoticed. Sirius's jaw dropped, Peter's eyes were so wide that his eyebrows got lost in his hair, and Remus rubbed his eyes again, as if he might be hallucinating.

Lily meant to pull back as soon as she brushed his lips with her own. She never meant to stay for more than just a second. However, she soon found herself unwilling to pull back from his kiss. Whether it was because James had wrapped his arms tightly around her or because he had began to move his lips skillfully against hers (_oh, it felt _so_ good_) she didn't know. All she knew was that she was in her own little world with James and the fact that she was in front of both the Marauders and Alice no longer mattered.

Even though Lily reluctantly pulled back after three minutes and twenty three seconds, the Marauders were still stunned and rooted to their spot. The awkward silence was broken by Lily.

"Er—so James, what did you say about going to the next Hogsmeade trip together?" She asked as casually as possible.

The grin never left his face. "Finally going to go with me?"

Lily nodded eagerly. "By the way, James—Kemps—me and Alice won—er, I mean, _Alice and I_ won."

Sirius was finally brought back to his senses at this statement. "Darn, James! We were _so close_! Better luck next time, mate!"

Lily wished Sirius didn't have to wink after saying that. She also wished Alice didn't have to look so smug...and that Remus and Peter would stop clapping. Even _more_ so, she wished that the rest of the Gryffindors who were staying for the holidays would stop cheering and whooping.

James, on the other hand, didn't care about winning anymore. He didn't care that everyone else was watching. All he cared about at the moment was that Kemps was now his favorite card game.

_Alice is right_, thought Lily. Revenge is _sweet_.

--

Yay for Kemps. Hope you liked it? I will know if you review...

Well, like Professor Trelawney would say..."You will review. I have foreseen it." (Wink.)


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